A celebration of earthy ingredients & real food

Sweet Potato & Bean Bake

A little while ago the Troll and I ended up at Dr Scott. Dr Scott is an iridologist, and via the magical power of his eye photographing machine he can see what is ailing you.

Well we knew what was ailing the Troll, he had a splitting headache which had not stopped for a week! His temper had been as that of a bear in mortal pain, and in a fit of desperation we were now at Dr Scott’s.

The eye machine revealed all sorts of interesting things, but the thing that impacted me the most was a dietary change away from red meats and processed starch (disclaimer: he eats the starch of his own volition, it is not by my encouragement) . Even potatoes were to be eaten in moderation. Horrors! Fortunately it seems that the sweet potato is a worthier vegetable, and can be eaten by most.

And so was born the sweet potato bake. With eggs for protein, and sweet potato for energy and fibre.

I have made these kind of bakes before, because when one is cooking plant based meals, you start to feel like a bore serving up steamed ________ (insert vegetable) day in and out. What I like about vegetable bakes is that the prep work is minimal, and most of the cooking is done on the stove top. So you don’t have a pan baking away in the oven for hours eating up electricity.

For some reason sweet potato lends itself well to this baking technique. It gives a nice flavor and a good consistency. Nothing worse than making a vegetable bake which falls into a sloppy mush when you try to serve it. ‘This is my vegetable bake – sorry vegetable mush mess speciality, enjoy!’

No fear, you will not be thinking that when you make this one. : )

To run you through, first off I chop the vegetables. I like to put some butternut or pumpkin in if if I have, especially if the sweet potato I have is not a large one. Sweet potatoes can be really big, so one big one works well. But if it is any smaller, the egg to potato ratio goes out. Just take note that if you are using butternut or pumpkin, it must be from a mature one. Young ones will release too much water – resulting in the sloppy mess I was referring to earlier.

I then place them in a pot with a thin layer of water at the bottom and set them to steam. I check them as they cook to make sure that the water has not boiled off. If the water boils away then the vegetables will burn, and give the whole dish a burnt flavor.

Once the vegetables are done, I drain off any excess water. Then I take the potato masher and mash them until they are roughly smooth in consistency. I then add the eggs, salt, pepper, grated cheese, herbs and spices and a little olive oil. I combine this further with the potato masher.

Once that is done, I pour the whole lot into a greased pan and set to bake on medium high for 10 minutes. I then turn the oven down to a temperature just below medium and bake until the edges brown. Usually I test with a knife. If it comes out clean, then it is baked nicely right through. And that is that! Leftovers can be convenient for lunch boxes, and can be eaten cold or hot.

Sweet Potato & Bean Bake

Ingredients

1/4 of a butternut or a hand span of pumkpin (optional if you think you have enough sweet potato)

1onion

handful of green beans

8 eggs

2 cups of grated cheese

1 round feta cheese

Salt & pepper

Sprig of rosemary

Dried coriander

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon dried parsley

5 tablespoons olive oil

Dash of apple cider vinegar

Instructions

Chop up the the sweet potato and the butternut (or pumpkin) into medium sized pieces. Halve the onion and cut into thin slices.

Combine all the vegetables in a pot with a 1/2 cup water and the sprig of rosemary and set to simmer until soft.

While this is going you can grate the cheese and slice the beans. Top and tail the beans, and slice them finely length ways. I used a vegetable peeler on the edge of a chopping board for this!

Once the vegetables are soft remove from heat and take out the sprig of rosemary. Drain any remaining water. Using a potato masher, mash the vegetables. Add in the 8 eggs and using the masher combine them into the mix until it is an even consistency. Add the olive oil, salt, pepper, coriander, vinegar, and dried herbs. Combine.

Pour into an oiled baking pan and put into the oven.

Bake on medium high for 10 minutes.

Reduce heat to a setting just below medium and bake until browned on the edges. If you insert a knife it should come out clean.